Chronic LBP PDG: (Phenol Dextrose Glycerine) Dechow et al (1999)

Dr. Reeves' Notes: Incorrect injection sites along with failure to examine lead to worse rather than better outcomes. The third study on chronic low back pain was led by a chief investigator (rheumatologist) who had a mandate to "prove or disprove prolotherapy", was armed with a complete lack of knowledge of prolotherapy technique or referral patterns for ligament or tendon, and brilliantly, but probably unwittingly, designed the study to fail. Failure was ensured by:

As a consequence of injecting inflammatory solution in completely wrong areas, this study is recorded as a prolotherapy study in which the active group did worse than the control. This study is worthy of inclusion in a discussion of back pain studies because of what it says about study design in musculoskeletal medicine; ie, it trumpets the importance of knowing anatomy, and referral patterns in connective tissue, and of hands-on examination.